My Forged Wedding
by Sailor Phoenix1997
Summary: How did all of this happen? A while ago I was just out of college and looking for a job and now I'm married? Huh! AU. Ardentshipping. Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

**Phoenix: Hey everyone! Did ya miss me? Because I missed all of you! But finally, I can relax. We still have a ton of work to do with moving but I think I can handle it. Now, I hope you all love this story. Please review and be nice about it please. STORY TIME!**

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The early morning sun shone brightly on the streets of Domino City. The sounds of trains coming and going wasn't too unusual for the station.

With my luggage in hand, I wove through the foot traffic to the street, letting my arms stretch after the long train ride.

"Domino City," I said as I looked around at the large buildings, KaibaCorp looming over all of them like some kind of king or predator…Probably both. I hadn't been in Domino City since I was little, since my mom and father got a divorce. After that, my mom had remarried a very nice guy and they'd had a kid a couple of years after. I had just gotten out of college and was in dire need of a job, which brought me here. My big brother, Joey, had offered to help me find a well-paying job and I'd come to take him up on his offer.

The thought of what exactly my big brother did for me passed my mind. He'd taken me to the beach before our parents divorced and he'd had to live with our alcoholic, abusive father, he'd entered a competition to win three million dollars in order to pay for an operation that would save my eyesight and keep me from going blind.

My hand slid into my pocket as more memories – ones I didn't want popping up – slithered into my head.

My hand shook, bringing me out of my thoughts. I hadn't shivered but wasn't my phone in that pocket? I pulled out my cell phone to see "Joey Wheeler" flash across the screen. I flipped the phone open and pressed it to my ear.

"Hey Joey!" I said.

"Renie! Good ta hear from ya sis. Ya off your train?"

"Yea, I just left the station."

"Okay good. Listen, I got a little errand but I'm busy at work. Ya think you could run it for me?" I shrugged.

"Sure. I'd love to."

"Great! I'll send de list to your phone in a text okay?"

"Okay, love you Joey."

"Love ya too sis." With that, we hung up. Not two seconds later, I received my text.

"Fenugreek, nigella seed, cardamom…What are all these?" I asked. I'd never heard of any of these before but from the fact that it was Joey, they were probably food.

Slipping my phone into the pocket of my orange vest, patting out a few wrinkles in my faded baby-blue denim dress and grabbing hold of my luggage again, I started towards the nearest supermarket.

* * *

I took hold of a basket and looked at my list again. The first item sounded like some sort of vegetable I suppose, so I headed to produce and scanned the aisles. I was so engrossed in what I was doing, I didn't realize I was going to run into someone.

"Hey watch it!" he shouted when I bumped into him. I looked around quickly, making sure no one was staring at us. Seeing no one, I turned back to the man. He had emerald-green eyes and jet-black hair that he kept mostly out of his face with a red headband with black diamond designs on it and a large portion of it was held up in a ponytail. Under his left eye was a long black mark of some kind. He was dressed in a black shirt, red sleeveless jacket, black pants and shoes and his skin was somewhat dark.

"I'm sorry sir but please keep your voice down," I said. He glared at me then at my empty shopping basket.

"Were you looking for something specific?" he asked, quite a bit quieter than before. I pulled out my phone and handed it to him so he could see the list. His eyebrow went higher and higher as he looked the list over then he looked at me.

"It's for my big brother," I explained.

"Are you stupid or something?" I was taken aback by his sudden attitude. "These are spices. What do you think you're doing over here?"

"I just got to this city and I've never heard of any of those things before! So maybe you should know a thing or two about the people you're talking to before you call them stupid." The man sighed and shook his head before handing me back my phone and grabbing hold of my hand. "Wha-"

"Be quiet," the man said none too kindly as he dragged me towards the spices and picked up everything on Joey's list. "Anything more you need help with?" he demanded. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"No. Thank you for your help though." The man turned away and walked off. _"Jerk," _I mentally hissed. I headed towards the checkout and paid for the spices before leaving.

* * *

I looked at the scrap of paper that I'd been given by my mom for Joey's address then I looked at the street sign.

"Okay, Joey's on this street," I said as I started down the street. The area I was in wasn't too far from the train station. There was a school nearby, a park, a lawyer's firm building, and a multitude of other shops. Outside of one shop stood a man with maroon hair tied back in a low ponytail, dressed in a pale blue shirt under a white sweater-vest and a pair of jeans and he was staring at…

Wedding dresses?

I looked at the dress he was looking at – a simple off-crème color with one long sleeve, the other nonexistent, and a wrap-around sort of look on the skirt with sequins sewn into the fabric.

_"That's a rather pretty dress," _I thought before continuing on my way.

I came to a glass door in an entire wall of glass with the number on the door matching the number for Joey's address. Inside it was a sports bar. Red-looking wood under neatly arranged light brown tables and chairs and the bar itself sparkled with the number of liquors and alcohols behind it, shot glasses neatly arranged on the shelf, wine glasses of every kind hanging over the alcohol, and beer glasses sitting in an open ice chest that was steaming in the heat of the room, and a large refrigerator next to the shelf of glasses.

At a table near the bar sat a brunette man in a black turtle-neck and slacks with a white trench coat hanging over his chair, talking to a woman with long white hair and pale skin, wearing a sleeveless blue dress with white piping around her waist - nearly forming a belt – on the collar and ends of the sleeve and creating the illusion of pockets. The two were laughing and chatting merrily.

_"Must be on a date." _

"Do you need something from Joey?" asked a voice behind me. I whirled around to face a rather pleasant-looking boy with dark skin, pale blonde hair and lavender-colored eyes wearing a light purple shirt that showed his midriff, what looked like leather pants and black shoes.

"Um…He's my big brother and I…" The boy's eyes widened.

"You're Joey's baby sister? You're Serenity?" I nodded. The man extended his hand.

"I'm Marik. Marik Namu Ishtar. I'm a friend of Joey's." I shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you Marik." He smirked at me then draped an arm over my shoulders.

"Come on. Joey's probably talking to one of the guys and he'll be at the bar soon," Marik explained as he lead me into the bar. A bell went off, signaling the man and woman we were there. They both turned towards us, and I noticed they both had sapphire-blue eyes. The woman stood up and walked towards up.

"Hey Marik," she said, clapping Marik's shoulder as she spoke. "How're things going?"

"Oh, you know. The usual. Ishizu's working at the museum, Odion's still one of the police commissioner's favorites, and I'm still famous as a model actor." The woman rolled her eyes and pushed some of her pale hair back before turning back to me.

"And you are?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Serenity, Serenity Wheeler. I'm Joey's sister." The woman looked at me like I'd just hit her in between the eyes before a wide smile spread over her face.

"My, my, my. You don't recognize me do you?" I blinked. I'd met this woman before? She wrapped her arms around my body and gripped me in a bear hug so tight, I heard my back pop in several places and felt my feet lift off the ground before she put me down again.

"Wow!" I said as I felt the parts of my back that had popped, making sure I hadn't slipped a disk. "I haven't had a bear hug like that since…" My voice trailed off as my eyes wandered back to the woman. "Since I last saw my cousins, Jesse and Kisara." The woman smiled.

"You got it Serenity," she said before pulling me into another hug, this one gentle. "I haven't seen you since we were little, how've you been?"

"I've been good. So have Mom and my step-dad and my little half-brother." Kisara smiled before the hand of the man was placed on her shoulder, a gold ring glinting on his hand. Kisara grinned as she gripped the hand with her own, showing off a similar band with diamonds set in such a way it looked like a water lily flower.

"This is my husband, Seto Kaiba. Seto this is my cousin Serenity." The man, Seto, looked down at me before a small smile graced his features and he extended a hand to me.

"Nice to meet you Serenity," he said. I shook his hand.

"By Kaiba do you mean…"

"Yes," Kisara answered. "Seto's been the CEO of KaibaCorp since he was twelve." Seto smirked at Kisara before pulling her into a kiss. Marik gagged from a stool at the bar.

"Come on you two. This is a public place! It's not appropriate for a schoolteacher and a CEO!" Marik groaned. Kisara and Seto broke apart with a particularly wet-sounding smack.

"Shut up Ishtar," Seto growled, still holding Kisara close to his chest, nearly possessively. "You're just jealous that I'm married before I'm 30 and expecting a baby while you're struggling to keep a loyal girl on your arm." Marik glared daggers at Seto out of the corner of his eye.

"Don't push me Kaiba." Then the weight of Seto's words hit me.

"A baby?!" I asked, turning back to the married couple. Kisara nodded and rubbed the area of skin over her womb, Seto's hand joining her.

"I'm about two months along now. We've decided that if it's a girl to name her Annie and if it's a boy to name him Noah." Seto kissed Kisara's temple, causing the girl to giggle as the sound of the bar's bells went off again, this time the maroon-haired man from the dress shop came in.

"Hey Leon," said Marik. The man looked up, showing a pair of baby-blue colored eyes.

"Oh, hey guys. I didn't know you were here."

"Didn't I see you in front of the wedding dress shop a few moments ago?" I asked, instantly covering my mouth, wishing that had stayed in my head like I'd intended it to, not coming out of my mouth. Leon's face flushed deep red.

"I was admiring-"

"Leon," Seto said, a note of teasing in his voice, "I didn't know you liked wearing dresses." Leon's face went even redder.

"I was admiring the flowers they had in there! It can get tiring being surrounded by roses all my life! So I was looking at the other flowers in the shop!" Seto chuckled, leaning on Kisara as he did.

"I was joking Leon." Leon looked down, his face still red.

"You are way too tense Leon," Marik said as he patted the stool next to him. "Come on, when Joey shows up, first round's on me." Leon took a seat, still grumbling under his breath.

I was about to say something when someone came up behind me, wrapped an arm around my waist and covered my eyes with a hand. A kiss was pressed to my cheek before I was spun around to face…

"Joey!" I threw my arms around my brother's neck and we started laughing as he spun me around.

"Hey Renie," he said as he kissed my face again. He hadn't changed much since the last time I saw him. Same wild mane of golden hair, same amber-brown eyes that held the spark that would light up the eyes of a young child. He was dressed in a button-up white shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of black slacks. Around his neck hung our grandfather's dogtags as well as the ones he'd gotten from his own Washington D.C. trip. "Look at you, you've sure done a lot of growin' up, haven't ya?" I nodded.

"Graduated from college already." Joey smiled and hugged me again.

"Well Renie, looks like ya met most of the gang," Joey said, gesturing to the rest of the people in the room. Someone new was next to the bar now. I hadn't noticed him come in. He had brown hair, most of it styled to stick up in a single point in the front and he had a nice tan. He was dressed in a light tan suit with a white shirt underneath and the pin on his lapel suggested he was a lawyer. "This is Tristan Taylor. He's been a friend of mine since middle school," Joey said. The man looked up. His eyes were a warm sort of chocolate-brown. My heart skipped a beat.

"Nice to meet you," I said. Tristan extended his hand and shook mine as he smiled.

"Likewise Miss Wheeler." Tristan's hand were warm and soft and the one gripping my hand was large enough to practically cover mine like a blanket.

"So," Joey interjected, "Tristan asked me for a favor which includes you. I told him the final say is yours but he's never asked me for a favor before." I looked over at Tristan.

"What's the favor?" I asked. The bar suddenly became very silent. Tristan had a light blush dusting his cheeks and everyone was staring at him.

After a moment, Tristan cleared his throat.

"I don't want to trouble someone I just met…"

"Um…Okay?" Marik reached over and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Stop being so rigid and formal Tristan," he joked.

"Just relax," Seto encouraged. Tristan did as told before turning to me.

"Alright then, I'll just get to the point." His shoulders loosened up and he smiled. "…Please become my wife." My mind practically flatlined.

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**Phoenix: How was that? You guys like that? Please review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Phoenix: Hello! I missed you all! Sorry I haven't updated recently. I was working in the crossover area. Please enjoy and review.**

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"Huh?" Joey started chuckling.

"That's pretty amazing Tristan." I looked wide-eyed at my brother. He was laughing?

"I can't believe you proposed so suddenly," Duke said.

"Huh? Oh? What?" Tristan asked, looking at each of his friends then he looked at me. "Oh! I'm sorry! Mistake! I want you to pretend to be my fiancée."

"Pretend?"

"Exactly."

"Your fiancée? Are you sure?" I asked.

"It'll just be for a day," Tristan promised. "I just want you to pretend to be my fiancée in front of my grandmother who's in the hospital."

"Pretend…To be your fiancée…" My mind was struggling to catch up with everything. A sudden proposal to act as a fake fiancée to a man I barely knew. _"I guess it's better than a real proposal? No, that's not true!" _Even pretending would be hard.

"Tristan's parents worked a lot so his grandmother practically raised him," Joey explained. "And that grandmother is saying she wants to see Tristan's wife-to-be, if only once." I took a seat on a stool.

"Your grandmother's in the hospital?" Tristan's face became downcast.

"Yes, it's been six months already."

"That long?" Joey asked, astonished.

"How's she been lately?" Kisara asked as Seto made her take a seat while he hovered behind her.

"Well… Honestly, not so good," Tristan admitted.

"…Oh," Leon muttered.

"Actually, I don't think she has much time left…" Tristan continued. The room became even quieter.

_"Everyone seems worried about her as if she were their grandma…" _I thought.

"Tristan's grandmother took care of all of us at one point or another," Seto explained. "She didn't get to me until High School."

"She was my host family when I came here for school," Leon said. "She was always nice even in her scary moments." Tristan smiled again.

"Yeah, she's a bit strict. But she loves enough to make up for it."

"It's the same with you, isn't it?" Marik asked. Kisara chuckled.

"That's true."

"Thanks guys," Tristan said. The atmosphere seemed to lighten a little.

"So…There you have it. That's the story," Joey said as he rounded the bar and started cleaning a few dishes.

"Huh? Oh…I see."

"You're not going to let down Tristan's grandma, are you?" Marik asked.

"Don't try bullying her into this," Tristan warned.

"Ooh, we have to listen to the lawyer," Leon teased. I looked over at Tristan. Despite him wanting my help, he told off everyone else who was trying to pressure me.

"So…How about it Serenity?" Joey asked. "Think you can help Tristan?"

"…It's impossible!" I said.

"I guess so…" Tristan said, his face becoming downcast again.

"Oh dear, he's depressed," Kisara said.

"He wouldn't be so depressed if you hadn't gotten his hopes up," Marik poked.

"Poor Tristan…" Leon said.

"Hey, cut that out you guys," I defended. I looked around, Marik and Leon were giving me criticizing eyes while Kisara's critical eyes were on the two and Joey was smiling.

"Renie…You remember our deal right?"

"Huh?" I said.

"You need a job and Tristan needs a favor," Joey said. Kisara's criticizing eyes shot to Joey.

"That's coercion Joseph," she scolded. Joey smirked.

"It's only for a day…Heck, maybe only a few minutes. Don't you think you could do this for a guy who's never asked me for a favor before in either of our lives? Besides, you used to love playing pretend." I scowled at Joey. Oh brothers, they love ya and they coerce ya.

"I'll do it," I said, catching everyone's attention.

"Are you sure Serenity?" Marik said. I nodded.

"It can't really hurt, can it? It's just for a while…It's not like I'm really getting married." Joey smiled at me.

"Serenity!" Tristan said as he grabbed hold of my hands. "Thank you! I really appreciate this!"

"Oh…It's no problem…" I said, hoping my cheeks weren't turning red. "I'm not so sure that my acting skills are as good as they used to, but I'll do what I can." Tristan smiled.

"Thank you…I hope one day I can repay you for this kindness."

"Good for you, Tristan," Seto said.

"This ought to make your grandmother happy," Leon agreed.

"Maybe you guys should practice sharing a bed," Marik teased, earning him a slap in the face from Joey's towel.

"Marik's teasing aside," Joey continued. "Are you sure you're alright with this Renie?"

"Yes…" I said with a nod. Joey smiled and turned to Tristan.

"Congratulations Tristan!"

"Thank you so much Serenity!" Tristan said. I noticed he was still holding my hands in his.

"Should we celebrate?" Seto asked.

"That's a good idea," Kisara said.

"What's a good idea?" asked a new voice. A familiar voice…I prayed it wasn't who I thought it was. I turned and standing there was the black-haired man from the supermarket.

"Tristan and Serenity are going to pretend to be an engaged couple when they go see Tristan's grandmother tomorrow. Honestly, Duke, you need to be on time for these things," Seto explained.

"Not my fault I ran into an idiot of a girl at the supermarket!" Duke roared.

"I thought I told you I'm not an idiot." Duke's eyes widened as Kisara made a sort of hissing noise.

"You just got majorly burned Duke." Joey moved around behind the bar, collecting glasses.

"In honor of my sister coming to town, first round's on the house," he said.

"I'll take a beer," Duke said as he leaned up on the bar, eyes still staring at me.

"Just a coke for me Joey," Kisara said before Joey put a glass of the dark liquid in front of her.

* * *

"Serenity." I nearly leapt three feet in the air as Tristan appeared next to me as I headed back to the bar from the bathrooms.

"Oh…Hello," I said as I tried to get my breath under control.

"I just wanted to thank you…in private…without the guys around to tease us." He bowed low to me and I bowed back, somewhat confused.

"I hope I can help you," I said. Tristan smiled as he straightened up, a light blush on his cheeks.

"Of course you're helping me!" he said as he bowed again. We continued bowing until our eyes met. I giggled a little. He chuckled in response and soon we were both laughing. "My apologies if all my bowing is making you uncomfortable. My mother's Japanese and she raised me with Japanese manners in mind."

"It's perfectly fine," I assured. "I'll do my best to do my job." Tristan stopped chuckling and looked tenderly at me.

"You don't have to be too nervous. All you really have to do is stand next to me and smile." I nodded.

"Okay…"

"I really care for my grandmother…" Before long, he was telling me about fond memories of his grandmother as he leaned against the hallway wall. "She used to come cheer us on at our baseball games with a picnic basket."

"I see…"

"She always made enough for all the guys too."

"Everyone?" I asked. Tristan nodded.

"Yeah, she'd always wake up early to make a bunch of sandwiches. But she never complained, even when Joey would eat forty of them. She'd just laugh and pat him on the head." Tristan looked so proud as he talked about his grandmother. His eyes were kind and warm as he spoke.

"I see she's very special to you."

"Indeed. That's why I want to make her happy." I nodded.

"I understand," I said. "The same goes for me and Joey." I still wasn't too hot about pretending to be a fiancée, I felt horrible that I was only doing this to forward my career. But seeing him like this, I really wanted to help him. I was glad I accepted.

* * *

"Ah, the fake couple return!" Marik said.

"Don't tease," Tristan said as he offered a chair to me.

"What a gentleman," Kisara said before taking a sip of her drink.

"We can't help it. You two look so cute…and happy." Leon said.

"Really? You too Leon?" Tristan said as he shook his head. "Don't drink too much kid. You alright over there Kisara?"

"I'm perfectly fine Tristan," Kisara assured as she took another sip. Seto placed his hand on the bar-top so his arm was partially hiding Kisara from view.

"Worrying about my wife is my job Taylor. You worry about Serenity for now." Kisara tapped Seto's arm playfully.

"You know he won't stop worrying. It's his nature."

_"He seems almost like everyone's brother," _I thought. He was big-hearted but also delicate enough to be considerate of others. Watching him made me feel warm in my heart. He turned and looked at me.

"Serenity, you should drink as well."

"Oh right," I chuckled, a little embarrassed he'd caught me staring at him.

"Is there something you'd like?" Joey asked.

"I normally drink shochu on the rocks." Duke started laughing.

"Shochu?!" he chuckled.

"What's wrong with that?" I demanded.

"So not sexy," Marik said. Tristan chuckled.

"I'll take the same thing Joey," he said lightly.

"Coming up!" Joey called from the liquor. He placed two glasses on the bar and Tristan handed mine to me.

"There you are."

"Thank…you…" I said. Our hands brushed as I took my glass. "Thank you…" By instinct my heart skipped a beat, and for a moment I forgot how to speak.

Tristan took his own seat and glanced at me kindly as he leaned on his hand.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing," I said as I brushed some of my bangs out of my face. _"He hadn't even noticed our hands touched. What am I getting so excited over?" _

"Okay then, cheers," he said as he raised his glass. I tapped mine to his before we took a sip. When I looked back at Tristan, his eyes were twinkling in amusement.

"You two look like you're having fun," Kisara teased.

"Is being a fake couple actually a good match?" Marik prodded.

"They have the same taste in drink, that don't mean it's meant to be," Joey said. Kisara raised her hands.

"I only said my opinion Joseph, no need to get angry," she said sweetly.

"And isn't it important that we can agree on something at least?" Tristan said.

"Yes!" I said, a little louder than I intended. Everyone started chuckling at my enthusiastic response.

"Looks like you two get along rather well," Seto said.

"You know," Marik started. "You two actually look like you're a couple."

_"What?" _I thought. I was a bit agitated at Marik's comment but Tristan was chuckling lightly.

"Really?" he said. "So you think Grandma will buy it?" Everyone nodded. Tristan smiled at me, relieved and I mirrored him.

"That raises the question, when are we going to meet your grandmother again?"

"Tomorrow," Tristan said.

"What? Tomorrow?!" I said, trying to keep my composure. _"How in the world am I supposed to be mentally prepared for something like that in such short a time?!" _

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**Phoenix: That took a while didn't it? Don't hate me! I was working on other stuff! But hey, I also have to have a life! I refuse to be the palest kid when I go back to school! Am I clear? Now then, please review, keep it nice and I hope to see you next time.**


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